Anyone have any experience of migraines in children?

Question

My 9 year old boy is suffering really badly from headaches which have migraine-like symptoms - sensitive to light and noise, etc.
Doctors don't know what's causing it.
Does anyone have any experience of children with severe headache and what might cause them?

Answer 1

http://www.neurologyreviews.com/feb04/nr_feb04_foramen.html

Answer 2

That was the age I was when I started getting headaches/migraines. Im 22 now and have daily chronic migraine ( not to freak you out). I didnt see a neurologist till I was 12 and I wish I had earlier. There are many wonderful medications that can help that he wont be able to take untill he is 18 (FDA regulations) but a neurologist will be able to give other medications that are very helpful. Ibuprofon just doesnt cut it after a while and hiding under the covers because light and sound is so painful is just awful (and awful to watch id imagine)

There are many herbal supplemants and alternative treatments. I dont condemn them by any means, but just know there is no end of them, they are costly, and most people will guarentee you a cure only for you to be dissapointed if it doesn't work.

There are tests that can be done - MRI, catscans, EEGs - to rule out serious problems, most likely its just migraine in and of itself. There are lifestyle adjustments that may help. ACHE.net offers some. A lot are dietary, sleep, stress, lights and noise.

If you or the boys father had migraines know that it IS hereditary, and however either of you grew out of it (or didnt) is possible he will do the same.

Answer 3

my family has a history of migraines but there are many different symtoms that can trigger them.
my uncle started at 5, my mum, grandma & other aunts & uncles have always suffered. all my sibblings suffer, I started at 9 & now my daughter had her first migrain at 5 years old. I have to take a beta blocker as a preventative medicine, which helps but has some unpleasant side effects.
The cause of migraine is unclear.
It is thought migraine may occur when there is a decrease then increase in blood flow to part of the brain, probably caused by blood vessels narrowing then opening again. The stretching of the blood vessel wall causes pain.
In addition to any blood vessel changes, it is thought that some chemicals in the brain increase in activity during a migraine. It seems that levels of serotonin, or 5HT (a chemical that is important to brain function and has an effect on the size of blood vessels) decrease at the onset of the headache but are normal in the periods of time between attacks.
If you get migraines, you may have a more sensitive pain centre in the brain than other people. This means that things like bright lights or when you are tired affect your pain centre more.
Triggers:
Most attacks occur for no apparent reason, but some people notice triggers including:
foods, such as dairy products (particularly cheese), chocolate, alcohol (particularly red wine), caffeine, citrus fruits, nuts, fried foods and foods containing monosodium glutamate (MSG) such as Chinese food, processed meats and frozen pizzas. bright lights (photophobia), insufficient food or missing meals, long journeys/travelling, certain medication such as sleeping tablets or HRT, loud noises (phonophobia), strong smells (osmophobia), changes in the weather, neck and back pain, stress or anxiety, and tiredness, not having enough sleep or oversleeping. There can be more than one trigger for a migraine. Being tired, in combination with another trigger can set off a migraine. It may be useful to keep a diary of your symptoms so you can look for a pattern and avoid certain triggers. Note the date of the attack, what time of day the attack began, what the warning signs were, your symptoms (including the presence or absence of an aura), what medication you took and when the attack ended. It is worth noting that some things that you may think are triggers (for example, chocolate), may have been a craving in the prodromal phase. This means that the migraine was on its way before you ate the chocolate, so the chocolate was not the cause.
Hormones:
Migraine is more common in women than men, and this is linked to hormonal changes. During the menstrual cycle, the levels of oestrogen and prosgesterone in a women's body fluctuate. Evidence shows that migraine is linked to a fall in oestrogen levels. Many women find that the worst headache coincides with the start of their period, which is when oestrogen levels are lowest. Many women find that their migraine headaches become less severe or disappear when they are pregnant.

Answer 4

when i was growing up, i had horrible headaches, from the time i was around 4 or 5, to the time i was in 5th grade. i would go days at a time, and some doctors thought it was the florecent lighting at the school, but i'd still get them on the weekends too at home, where there was no florecent lights. then, they thougth it was my eyes, and so, i got glasses. that didn't help. finally, i lost control of my right side, and we eneded up going to the emergency room, and they found that i had an abcess in my brain. i was in the hospital for 14 days, and was on pennicillian for 9 months, but after the surgery, i was fine. didn't hurt a bit. now, since then, on a pretty constant basis, i still get pretty bad headaches, but not near what they were. My abcess was caused by impacted sinusitus. the sinus infection was never quite treated, and it moved into my brain. pretty scary stuff, but i'm okay now.

if your doctors don't know what's causing it, then i'd get a second opionion. the first drs i went to, didn't think there was anything wrong with me either. then, the second thought it was cancer. finally, we went to childrens hospital, and the 3rd and 4th doctors finally got it right.

good luck, i hope everything turns out okay. ;)

Answer 5

My daughter started suffering with migraines when she first got her period around 11 years old. We also tried Elavil with no success. I found a really good pediatric neurologist here in Memphis and he put her on Imitrix which also didn't help too much. We let her go on birth control pills at around 16 and this helped tremendously as part of hers were hormonal. She has tried Maxalt with some success in recent years. When she gets them so bad that she is throwing up and seeing auras....we takes one Darvocet and sleeps it off.

Answer 6

I used to suffer from terrible migraines when I was younger. No one could tell me why I was getting them and the only advice they really gave was that I would probably grow out of them. At the time they didnt have tablets to help. Now my GP has given me Amitriptyline tablets which help. Try speaking to your GP and see what they can do for you

Answer 7

I couldn't possible guess at what the problem could be but I would suggest you take him to a reflexologist or accupuncturist. Both therapies have extremely good results in dealing with this sort of problem. They are non-invasive and don't involve pumping his body full of drugs which at the end of the day only supress symptoms but don't solve the underlying problem.
I hope you do try it as I know from experience that these therapies can make a big difference.
Good luck!
Hope this helped.

Answer 8

could be anything from chocolate to orangejuice to an illness lack of sleep dehydration etc if he is like any other normal 9 year old boy i suspect he probably spends far too much time watching tv and playing computer games make sure if he plays them he takes regular breaks and limit the time he spends on them to i dont know 45 minutes? make sure he drinks lots of fluid has regular healthy meals and not too much sugar or caffeine (present in coca cola etc) lots fresh air get his eyes tested and make sure the doctor investigates properly and runs all the tests for any illnesses. It could just be hereditary but make sure he goes to bed at a proper time so he has enough sleep and make sure he has no worries he is not telling you about. I hope he feels better soon.

Answer 9

My son (15) suffers with them, again like yourself all the doc did was prescribe painkillers, co-codamol which cant be good for him. I cut out cows milk and have him on goats milk now, as he has bad excema, and it seems to have reduced the migraines greatly, he has only had 1 in the last 6 months.
Good luck in finding out what you need.

Answer 10

yes my 9 year old suffered from them took him to doctors and he gave him some medication to take at night can't remember what it was called and i took him ot get his eyes tested, he was given glasses to wear for 6 months (longsightness), his headaches are less frequent and no gets them when he is very tired or has done a lot of written work at school. Another factor was that in his school he used or was sat near their interactive white board and the glare was given him the migranes.

Answer 11

Am very sorry that your that your child is going through this. my dad suffered with migraine for more than 10years, i am sorry but i don't know what my cause them. i bought Chinese herbs for my dad and he doesn't get migraines anymore.